We Can Phickle That! Green Tomatoes

The last of the season. Herbs going to seed and tomatoes that will never ripen

Well, it’s finally here, I think. It feels cold, my dog has started her annual fall shivering and I can stand to run outside again (under duress, but still, I can do it!). I love the fall. There’s such a feeling of energy in the air when the temperature starts to drop. Philly can be a strange town, and sometimes, it seems beholden an era in which there weren’t tons of young people doing interesting things in a pretty open environment. Summer can be a rollback to when only families who’d lived in the city for generations were still in Center City, and the Jersey shore was the only place they spent their summers. By all of this I mean, action on the ground in the summer can be a little sparse, (and I don’t even care that much because with 90% humidity, who wants to walk 3 miles to a festival anyway?) but when the fall rolls around, there’s nothing but fun, fun, and more fun to be had.

The last of the mini crop of stupice tomatoes from my roof

I’m willing to accept that my tomato plants, which have been producing like mofos since June (with a brief pause due to rain-drenched illness) are pretty much done with their rough lives. But there are so many green tomatoes left! In previous years, I’ve ripened those in a brown paper bag on top of the fridge, and it has worked well. This year, though, I’m taking a tip from a former student, who told me that they are great pickles! I know it seems like I should’ve made these before this year. You’re probably right. But as you may have noticed, my tagline is “Wild and Lazy Fermentation,” emphasis on the “lazy” and tomato pickles seemed like they could have some serious texture issues or at least require extensive testing and/or effort to perfect. You may also have noticed that when it comes to pickles, I’ll go for the veggies that work effortlessly well every time, (cabbage, turnips, carrot, beet, etc) over the veggies that make you work for perfection (cucumbers, etc), so green tomatoes weren’t immediately of interest to me.

I’m glad I tried them, though, because I was wrong. They are in the easy category. I fermented them fresh off the vine, which may have helped, but truly, they were the same texture as the vinegar pickled ones I enjoy at my favorite brunch spot, and, as is the wont of fermented pickles, they have much more flavor and complexity. I also used smaller, heirloom variety tomatoes (stupice and jaune flamme, to be exact) and I think this is a good call. Larger tomatoes are bound to mush a bit. I kept these simple, because honestly, I expected them to fail and therefore be unworthy of using up my spice drawer. They did not fail, though, and my next batch isn’t done yet, so feel free to experiment with the herbs and spcies you have on hand! I’m so happy to have a great accompaniment for my pseudo-restaurant home brunches or any kind of down homey meal I might make.

GREEN TOMATO PICKLES

Yields about a half-gallon of pickles

If this is your first foray into fermented pickles, please read my Pickle FAQ before getting started!

Let them sit at room temperature, out of direct sunlight for one week. They will, of course, bubble vigorously during fermentation At that time, give them a taste. If they are acidic enough, great! Stick them in the fridge and start eating them. If not, let them sit another few days before trying again. Once they’ve reached your desired acidity, they’re done.

Comments

I made some green tomato pickles this year too…. had to do something with the bunches of greenies. So, mine had garlic and coriander seed from my cilantro plant that also was going to get flattened by the freeze. I made mine in a half-gallon fido jar and the ferment bubbled furiously each day when burped. Very very good, but the scent when you open the jar lingers.
Also chopped up some greens in the food processor and fermented some green tomato salsa – delish!

This is my first time trying to ferment green tomatoes after having good success with sauerkraut, cucumbers, radishes, kohlrabi, etc. I didn’t cut or pierce them (as I read that is advisable after I’d already started them fermenting), just submerged them with spices two weeks ago. I tasted one a week in and it was downright gross. I tasted one just now from a different jar and it is not gross, but also not great. The skins have a decent crunch, but the flavor is more unripe tomato than anything else. Is two weeks not long enough? Unfortunately I have never tasted lacto-fermented tomatoes before so I don’t know what they are supposed to taste like. Thanks!!

If they taste bad don’t eat them. If they smell bad you likely will not want to eat them. The lacto-fermentation could have become contaminated with a no good bacteria. I like to get a clean tasting result. I finally figured out how to use the glass weights that you put in the top to keep the product under water. Grape leaves have worked well to end up with a crisp pickle. Different jars take different amounts of time to get to the point of eating. I have used caraway, dill, mustard seed, bay leaf and usually poke a hole in the larger green ones. I have had a lot of good results with jalapeño peppers both green and red. It is fun to watch them bubble. Pure energy in a jar.

Hi!
If I don’t have 7 cups (roughly 4.5 pounds) of tomatoes, can you tell me what the amt. of spices vrs the size container ratio would be? For instance, how many tbsp of mustard seeds should I use for a quart of tomatoes? I assume I can make the brine as directed and just use what I need. OR, do I have to add more salt?
THANK YOU!
Christine

Good morning
I am about to ferment for the first time . I have been reading other blogs and yours seems to be the easiest.
Do I put a cloth with a rubber band over the opening of the jar or put the cap on during the seven days ?

Did not think of trying this with my tomatoes that I grew this year, but with what is still growing (weather has been screwed up and even though it is Oct they are still blooming and producing)… These i grew are too sweet to even use as fried green tomatoes, so will give this a shot tomorrow with what is out there now… Maybe after a ferment they will be better as they are very low acidity variety…

I haven’t done any tomato fermentation for the past two summers so I’m a little rusty. My guess would be that you’re going to have some issues with slime if you slice (if you’ve ever done tomato seed-saving, you’ve experienced this). I would try a small batch and see what happens, but keep your expectations low. Even if you were to do it in a large vessel and keep the slicers whole, you may have an issue. I think the skin/flesh ferments best and the innards to flesh ratio is a lot different for full-sized ‘maters. Good luck, and please report back if you have success!

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